Loose Leaves.
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fINE learns from Merthyr-Tydfil that the scrap market is very dull, owing, no doubt, to the activities of housewives in spring-time, when the opportunity of the seasonal cleansing is seized for getting rid of things that lumber and the chattels that clog, At any rate, Merthyr had an old omnibus, type not stated, and with no particulars of the power of the motor or any idea of even the bore and stroke. The bus superintendent of the corporation sought offers by tender for this bus, then came down to ordinary offers (none that was reasonable to be refused), and, failing those, he had resort to verbal offers (" What will you give us for it, anyway"). Potential buyers now showed a flicker of interest, and one or two hinted at a tenner, with even tentative promises to take it away. But, on a closer examination, each quickly faded out except one bold enterprising merchant, who said in a take-it-orleave-it tone of voice, "Six quid." And he got it at that figure! Now is our chance to ask S.T.R. what he has got to say about the effect of allowance for depreciation and of interest on capital on the operating costs of such a vehicle!
BIS IT is as well to be wary of replacement parts other than those produced by makers of the chassis or of the major units utilized in them. Some may be excellent, but appearances are so deceptive that parts similar externally may be radically dissimilar in respect of their strength. Recently we came across a striking instance of this, although, in this case, only studs were concerned. We heard a jarring crash and saw a front wheel of a vehicle break away, whilst its hub—which was left on the axle— rested on the road after ploughing its way for some yards. An inspection showed that the studs by which the wheel was held on had pulled right out of their tapped holes in the hub flange, and further investigation enabled us to discover that the stud holes had been retapped and mild-steel studs inserted in lieu of those of high-tensile steel originally supplied. The difference in strength was so great that the new studs had stood up to their work for just under two days !
AT the fire-station home of Mr. Alonzo Savage. superintendent of the Preston Fire Brigade, we recently made a discovery which would no doubl arouse the enthusiasm of American collectors of the antique. This was a fine oak table upon which, we were assured, Oliver Cromwell had slept—not while on a visit of inspection to the brigade, but before
the battle of Preston Pans. If our memory does not mislead us, the Protector was not a spare man and, therefore, was not troubled by so hard a bed. And then, of course, the comfortable Park Hotel was not then available for the traveller !•
ATTENTION may usefully be drawn to a recent decision of a Divisional Court which is of importance because it tends to show that old by-laws as to vehicles, passed at a time when the motor 'vehicle was in its infancy, may not be regarded as obsolete at the present day, but may be held to apply to mechanically propelled vehicles as well. In "Neal v. Guy" an attempt was made, successfully, to enforce an old by-law of the Urban District Council of Bishop Auckland, which had been passed so long ago as 1901.
The by-law in question required every proprietor, driver or conductor of an " omnibus " to comply with certain provisions for regulating the number of persons to be carried by buses, one of these provisions being to the effect that no greater number of persons should be conveyed in any bus than would admit of the provisioo of adequate seating accommodation of a specified width and depth for each person. The by-law also contained certain other provisions specifying the number of persons who might be carried in a bus drawn by one, two or three horses respectively.
The respondent in the case bad a motorbus which was licensed to carry 39 persons, and a charge was preferred against him of having committed a breach of the by-law by allowing 55 persons to be carried. It was argued that the by-law entirely applied to horse-drawn vehicles and not to mechanically propelled vehicles; but the court took an opposite view and held in effect that, whilst some parts of a by-law might be applicable only to horse-drawn vehicles, yet, if other parts of the bylaw referred to vehicles in general terms, such parts of the by-law were to be regarded as being of general application to all vehicles, whether horse-drawn or mechanically propelled, and the court accordingly came to the conclusion that a breach had been committed.
IT is obvious that the latest campaign against "speeding" by coaches is in full swing, for there are many traps at work which permit private cars to travel at any speed and confine their attention to the "heavies." Incidentally, this term is rapidly becoming obsolete, for the latest model coaches are much lighter per unit of seating capacity compared with their prototypes.